Editing David Niven (section)

===Military service===
From 1928, Niven attended the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]. He did well at Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was his trademark. He requested assignment to the [[Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders]] or the [[Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)]], then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the [[Highland Light Infantry]]" (because that regiment wore [[Trews|tartan trews]] rather than the [[kilt]]). Having completed his training, he was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[British Army]] on 30 January 1930, and assigned to the Highland Light Infantry (HLI).<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33575 |supp= |pages=651–652 |date=31 January 1930}}</ref> He served with them for two years in [[Malta]] and then for a few months in [[Dover]]. In Malta, he became friends with the maverick [[Michael Trubshawe]], and served under [[Roy Urquhart]], future commander of the [[British 1st Airborne Division]].<ref name="Moon">{{cite book |author=David Niven |title=The Moon's a Balloon |year=1971 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |location=London |isbn=0-340-15817-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/moonsballoon00davi}}</ref> On 21 October 1956, in an episode of the game show ''[[What's My Line?]]'', Niven, as a member of the celebrity panel, was reacquainted with one of his former enlisted men. Alexander McGeachin was a guest and when his turn in the questioning came up, Niven asked, "Were you in a famous British regiment on Malta?" After McGeachin affirmed that he was, Niven quipped, "Did you have the misfortune to have me as your officer?" At that point, Niven had a brief but pleasant reunion.<ref>{{YouTube|T74qnT7WFZw|What's My Line? – Lerner & Loewe; Bishop Sheen; David Niven [panel] (21 October 1956)}}</ref>

Niven grew tired of the peacetime army. Though promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 1 January 1933,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33907 |page=674 |date=31 January 1933}}</ref> he saw no opportunity for further advancement. His ultimate decision to resign came after a lengthy lecture on machine guns, which was interfering with his plans for dinner with a particularly attractive young lady. At the end of the lecture, the speaker (a major general) asked if there were any questions. Showing the typical rebelliousness of his early years, Niven asked, "Could you tell me the time, sir? I have to catch a train."<ref name="Moon"/>

Lieutenant Niven resigned his commission on 6 September 1933.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33975 |page=5801 |date=5 September 1933}}</ref>